The present invention relates to an arrangement for powering linear motors applied particularly to magnetic levitation (MAGLEV) in railway transportation. One prior art approach to powering such railway systems included using one inverter per coil as shown in simplified form in FIG. 1. Such a system is relatively costly in that it requires a large number of relatively expensive inverters. In another prior art system, all the coils were connected in parallel and powered by a single inverter, as shown in FIG. 2. In such a parallel-driven system, a failure in the power drive electronics could incapacitate the entire track system. Even if the parallel system were broken up into segments or "blocks" the failure of an inverter would interrupt service because of the downtime of the affected block.
The present invention eliminates these shortcomings of the prior art by providing an arrangement for the inverter coils which reduces the number of inverters as compared to the inverter/coil system shown in FIG. 1, and provides for continuation of service even in the face of one or more inverter failures in contrast to the system shown in FIG. 2.